Amazing Race Finals: Austin Kemp Wins Free Play Dallas

Outside, the brutal Texas summer was in full swing, with 90-degree temperatures feeling more like a suffocating 102 degrees under the clear skies. Inside Free Play Arcade in Dallas, the atmosphere offered a neon-soaked escape into the golden age of gaming. The venue is a haven for retro enthusiasts, featuring a flat-rate free-play setup where an eclectic mix of classic cabinets, rare Japanese imports, and modern pinball machines line the floor. The energy is always palpable here, fueled by an unapologetically loud soundtrack of vintage anthems that frequently battles the mechanical chimes and callouts of the games themselves.

On this particular Monday night, organized by Chris Delp, the close-quarters environment perfectly mirrored the tournament’s high stakes. With a small but fiercely competitive field of twelve players gathered for a paired event, the tension was immediate. In a room this intimate, every drained ball and missed skill shot visibly shifts the standings. What began as a grueling Group Match Play qualifier eventually transformed into a cutthroat, five-man “Amazing Race” survival sprint, pushing the region’s best to their limits.

A Heavyweight Qualifying Field

Despite the small roster, the field was stacked with Texas talent. Nine of the twelve competitors were IFPA-ranked, boasting an impressive average Texas NACS state rank of #182. Top seed Greg Gibson entered the evening sitting at #286 nationally, setting a high bar for the rest of the room. In a five-round, fifteen-game qualifying phase, the margin for error was razor-thin; one bad game could easily unravel an entire afternoon’s worth of careful strategy.

Austin Kemp immediately established himself as the man to beat. Currently sitting at IFPA #302 and enjoying a genuine upward trajectory this season, Kemp put on an absolute clinic during the qualifier. He systematically dismantled the competition, securing the top score on four of the five machines he touched. His performance set the tone early, signaling to the rest of the heavyweights that the road to the title ran directly through him.

The qualifier was not without its grinding, marathon battles. In Round 3, the field was treated to an endurance test on Stern’s brand new The Uncanny X-Men (Pro) (2024). Rising local player Tye Nezat (IFPA #19,279) found himself locked in a grueling 34-minute, four-player war of attrition against veteran Ken Kemp. Nezat ultimately claimed the first-place finish on the machine, leaving Ken Kemp to settle for second in a matchup that tested both stamina and shot accuracy.

Top Finishers Clash Early

Before the finals even began, the leading contenders were already trading blows. In Round 5 of the qualifier, Ken Kemp and John Richardson found themselves grouped together on James Bond 007 (Pro) (Stern, 2022). Richardson came into the evening on a hot streak, having secured two wins in his last five events, but Kemp managed to edge him out in a tense 25-minute showdown to take the group win.

The qualifier also settled several long-standing local rivalries. Organizer Chris Delp and Tye Nezat continued their ongoing back-and-forth, with Delp breaking their tie to take a 3-2 lead in their shared history. Meanwhile, John Richardson managed to close the gap slightly on Ken Kemp, though Kemp still commands a dominant 7-3 lead in their head-to-head encounters.

By the end of the five rounds, the wheat had been separated from the chaff. The top five players advanced to the finals, leaving the rest of the field to hit the bar or enjoy the arcade’s festival games.

The Amazing Race Begins

The finals format shifted to the unforgiving “Amazing Race” structure. All five advancing players competed individually on the same machine each round, with the lowest scorer immediately eliminated from the tournament. There were no second chances and no safety nets; one cold game meant instant death.

The gauntlet kicked off on Godzilla (Pro). Daniel Martin, an Arlington local sitting at #20 in the Texas state rankings, fought hard to keep his tournament hopes alive. He managed to put up 14,857,390 points, but in a field this strong, it simply wasn’t enough. Martin was the first to fall, taking home a respectable fifth-place finish overall.

Round 2 moved the remaining four players to The Walking Dead (Pro). The unforgiving geometry and brutal outlanes of the zombie-themed table claimed tournament organizer Chris Delp. Delp posted a score of 4,309,860, which left him at the bottom of the pack for the round. He exited the tournament in fourth place, officially locking his long-term rivalry with John Richardson into a dead-even 6-6 tie.

Ken Kemp Bows Out

With only three players remaining, the pressure in the arcade reached a boiling point. The action transitioned to Led Zeppelin (Pro) for Round 3. Ken Kemp, who had been a dominant force throughout the evening and currently sits at #15 in the state rankings, needed a massive game to survive.

He put together a highly respectable run, ending his ball with 35,254,320 points. However, the blistering pace set by Austin Kemp and John Richardson proved too much to overcome. Ken Kemp was eliminated, finishing in third place for the night. His exit had an added layer of narrative weight: it officially tied his ongoing rivalry with Austin Kemp at exactly four wins apiece.

A Ghostbusters Climax

The title decider came down to a head-to-head battle between Austin Kemp and John Richardson. Richardson had fought brilliantly all night, looking to add another victory to an already stellar season that includes seven wins across twenty events. Austin Kemp, however, was playing with a level of focused momentum that had been building since his first plunge of the qualifier.

The final moments of the tournament unfolded on Stern’s 2016 Ghostbusters (Pro). The machine, notorious for its challenging layout and wide flipper gap, requires immense precision and nerve. Under the glow of the arcade lights, Austin Kemp managed to outlast Richardson in the final elimination round. Richardson’s deep run ended with a hard-fought second-place finish, a testament to his current hot streak.

Austin Kemp claimed the outright victory, surviving both the match play gauntlet and the Amazing Race finals. It was a statement win for Kemp, cementing his upward trajectory this season and proving that he can close out a tournament when the pressure is at its absolute highest. For the rest of the Dallas pinball community, it’s back to the drawing board before the next Monday night showdown.